When we left Elder and Amy they had discovered that they were way behind schedule in getting Godspeed to Centauri-Earth, that Orion was really the Elder before Elder (Why can't they just have real names?), and that Eldest was drugging the citizens of Godspeed in order to keep them cooperative even though chances are they are NEVER going to get to the new planet. With Eldest dead and Orion frozen, Elder is left to figure out how to keep the now drug free citizens of Godspeed from rebellion and how to get the "frex" off of this ship. Never mind that Amy is a constant source of distress - the people don't like her and she refuses to sit still and do nothing. She wants to wake up her parents, but Elder is against the idea but when he finds out the real truth (seriously, how many truths can we reveal?) about Godspeed he may have no other choice.